More Than a Hero
by EchidnaPower
Summary: I've learned a lot of lessons under Batman, he taught me everything I would ever need to know about being a superhero, about being Robin...but Starfire taught me how to be Dick Grayson, and she taught me how to fly. (My first Teen Titans fic)


**ANOTHER new fandom, here we go. xD Yep, time to jump into Teen Titans! I honestly came to this fandom way later than I should have, and now that I found it, I can't get enough of it...but it took a Valentines Day drawing from my girlfriend to prompt me to write this, so this story is for you Holly!**

 **And I hope the rest of you enjoy it too! I own nothing except the story.  
_**

A hero's work is never done, and no one knows that better than me. It was my duty to make sure Jump City was safe from anyone who might threaten it, hence my current position on the top of Titans Tower, watching over my city to make sure its people could sleep easy tonight. Being trained by Bruce Wayne - otherwise known as Batman - taught me a lot about responsibility and what it means to be a hero...but there have been times where I wish could just unlearn the things that I'd learned.

Oh how I wish I could.

With Batman, I learned how to be a detective, how to search for clues and find connections where other people wouldn't notice them. I learned how to fight, how to take an opponent's strength and use it against them, and how to use my own natural abilities and insert them into my fighting style; my acrobatic background had certainly come in handy more than once during my career as Robin.

I learned how to be a leader, how to remain strong in the face of danger, and to never show my opponents any signs of weakness...unfortunately, that particular lesson seemed to need relearning every time I went up against Slade...he always seemed to know just which button needed pressing and when to press it to get me to fall for his tricks.

Batman taught me everything I would need to be a crime fighter, he taught me everything I would ever need to be Robin, and despite our current...shall we say strained relationship, I will always be grateful to him for everything he did - and, admittedly, is still doing - for me.

What Batman did not teach me...is how to be Dick Grayson.

Ever since I came to Jump City, I've let my hero identity become my _only_ identity. Robin wasn't just a hero name anymore, it was who I am...Dick Grayson? He practically didn't exist anymore, there was no need for him to. Dick Grayson couldn't protect the people of Jump City from the various superfreaks who seemed to roam the streets on a daily basis like Robin could, Dick Grayson couldn't go toe-to-toe with Slade and still come out alive like Robin could...Dick Grayson couldn't control his human need for companionship like Robin could.

But recently, I've been starting to wonder if _Robin_ can control his human need for companionship...and I think the answer, is no he can't.

My team knows that I'm not the easiest person to get close to, I've brushed them off on more than one occasion, particularly when Slade is involved, and there's been even more times than that where I've stopped treating them like friends and more like subordinates...another lesson taught by the Batman that I wish I could forget. Just because they know and understand how I work, doesn't make it right. I can't be Robin 100% of the time, at least not in the sense of being the obsessive, driven hero who had blinders on whenever there was a case to be worked.

 _We're heroes...we don't take vacations._

God I was such an idiot...and a massive jerk to boot.

Our trip to Tokyo could have been a lot easier if I'd just been less of a stick in the mud. I was so focused on hunting down Saico-Tek and Brushogun that I neglected the needs of my team, and even when I started to relax, my Batman-honed instincts would kick back in and keep me from enjoying myself for even a moment. Batman's lessons had really turned me into the ultimate crime fighter.

It took a lesson from a beautiful girl from the stars to turn me back into Dick Grayson.

Before the Titans had formed, I had convinced myself that I would never allow myself to have fun again, I was going to focus solely on cleaning the streets of the scum that roamed them...and then Starfire came along.

Starfire...just her name is enough to pull me out of my Robin-mode and turn me back into a normal human being, one who could smile, who could feel...who could love.

Love. Bruce always flirted with the emotion but never let it take him over; Catwoman, Talia al Ghul, the hundreds of women he consorted with in order to maintain Bruce Wayne's playboy image and keep his identity as Batman safe. He told me that love was a dangerous thing, and it could - and would - interfere with my ability to finish what he called "the mission."

He was right. And I don't give a flying-

"Robin?"

Speaking of flying...I looked up from my vantage point on the top of the tower, and there, floating a few feet above me with a soft and tender smile on her face, was none other than Starfire.

My Starfire.

She was so beautiful, and the sight of her was enough to make my heart beat faster than any battle with a villain could, and in all the best ways. Her joy was infectious, I felt alive whenever she was around...I felt human again...I felt like Dick Grayson, a teenager, again.

Koriand'r - her Tamaranean name - was the very definition of beauty. She has stunning golden skin that makes her look like nothing short of a goddess, especially in the glow of the sunset; her gorgeous, fiery-red mane of hair that was so long it reached down to her waist, so silky and smooth that running my fingers through it was almost cathartic...but nothing, absolutely nothing could compete with those amazing, sparkling emerald eyes of hers.

Her eyes were always the first thing that caught my attention whenever I looked at her. Batman always said that the eyes were the window to the soul, and in Starfire's case, it was especially true. One look into her eyes could tell you exactly what she was feeling above all else...and right now, those big green eyes of hers were shining with admiration and affection.

Admiration and affection for _me_ of all people!

Starfire definitely had no shortage of suitors, it seemed that every day there was fan-mail coming into the tower, all with messages expressing their undying passion for the Tamaranean beauty. Truthfully, who could blame them? Starfire was tall (even taller than _I_ was!), she had a gorgeous smile, and she had a body that most women would kill to have...

I wonder what would happen in a few years when she hit full maturity...God help me.

But despite all the opportunities to go and find someone who had a better handle on their emotions, someone who could give her the love and affection she craved, Starfire simply waited, for years she waited...until finally I came around and allowed myself to reciprocate those feelings that I'd been holding back for so long.

She'd beaten back the darkness of the bat in me...with the light of the stars in her.

And I couldn't be happier.

So here she was, beaming at me with the beautiful smile that instantly lit up any room, her eyes twinkling with the love and joy that only seemed to appear when she was with me. She hovered closer, still a foot or so above me, and she reached out her hand.

"Come fly with me Robin."

I took her hand into mine, blushing a deep red that I truthfully felt no desire to hide, and I smiled at her; a smile I could tell was coming straight from the heart of Dick Grayson, the blue-eyed boy behind the Robin mask. She was the only one who could truly reach that part of me, not even Raven who had actually seen it for herself during her brief visit into my mind...and I wouldn't have it any other way.

She lifted me into the sky, and together we flew over the city that we called home...it's ironic in a way, as an acrobat in the circus, I would work for hours on the flying trapeze, just to get a few seconds of airtime before gravity could take me...now, I could fly whenever I wanted, and there was no feeling quite like it.

But really, Starfire didn't need to carry me for me to soar. As long as Robin - me, Dick Grayson - was with her...my heart would fly sky high.

The lessons instilled in me by Batman would always be with me, and somehow I knew that I would never really be able to unlearn them...and in reality, I didn't necessarily want to, they made me part of who I am...but thanks to Starfire, the other part of me - the Dick Grayson part - was thriving again after I'd convinced myself for years that I'd left that part of me behind.

And I will spend the rest of my life striving to make her heart soar the same way she makes mine.  
_

 **A/N: Admittedly I wasn't sure what to call this story, but Holly liked this title so I chose it. If any of you are curious as to what it was she drew for me, it just so happens to be the cover art for this story. Here's the - severely broken up as to avoid the censors - link for you to check it out for yourselves in full definition. It's beautiful, and in my opinion, this story pales in comparison.**

 **hollylu . deviantart art / Come - fly- with - me- 730 606 725**

 **Just copy and past that into the search bar, remove the extra spaces, and it'll send you straight to one of my favorite HollyLu drawings. I'm so lucky to have her as my girlfriend, and I think those feelings is what really inspired me during the writing of this story. Once I started, I just couldn't stop. They say the best stories come from the heart, and it's definitely true. Even feeling like this story isn't even close to her artwork, I will say that this is definitely one of my favorite stories I've ever written.**

 **And it's all because of her.**

 **Happy (late) Valentines Day Holly, I love you so much. 3**

 **And as for you, dear readers, I hope you enjoyed this short and sweet oneshot. If you did, leave a review and let me know what you think, I'd love to hear from you. Until next time!**


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